For Today I Am A Boy

A Novel

At birth, Peter Huang is given the Chinese name Juan Chaun, "powerful king." To his parents, newly settled in small-town Ontario, he is the exalted only son in a sea of daughters, the one who will finally fulfill his immigrant father's dreams of Western masculinity. Peter and his sisters grow up in an airless house of order and obligation, though secrets and half-truths simmer beneath the surface. At the first opportunity, each of the girls lights out on her own. But for Peter, escape is not as simple as fleeing his parents' home. Though his father crowned him "powerful king," Peter knows otherwise. He knows he is really a girl. With the help of his far-flung sisters and the sympathetic souls he finds along the way, Peter inches ever closer to his own life, his own skin, in this darkly funny, emotionally acute, stunningly powerful debut.

Opinion

From Library Staff

The only son in a family of daughters born to an immigrant Chinese family, the pressure on Peter to be the masculine heir his father wants is extraordinary. It’s even worse because Peter is transgender. This novel juxtaposes cultural assimilation with the search for personal identity and authenti... Read More »

The first part of the book is not told chronologically at all, which is annoying. The story is solemn. Pretty much none of the characters are nice to each other. The Chinese parents don't love each other or their children. The children are treated like an inconvenience, and friends are as mean to each other as enemies. If you want to see an example of how the world is an ugly place and how humanity makes it that way, read this book.
Peter wants to be a girl because he wants to be like his sisters. He has no positive male role models in his life. He wants to be loved like girls are often loved, because his parents give him no love. His "transgenderism" seems like more of a fetish and delusion. Just because you *want* to be someone or something doesn't mean you *are.*

A transgendered person in a house full of secrets? Sign me up! But then: This reminded me of Brian Francis' novel, Fruit, which in hindsight is the same type of pap Kim Fu has produced. You'd think a bildungsroman about an Asian male-to-female trans (?) in Ontario, Canada would be somewhat interesting, but this had me bored. BORED. Not a terrible book, but a waste of time. I felt nothing special reading it and took nothing away from the characters. I think I am in a crisis of sorts, because every book I pick up lately disappoints me. Severely.

This book hits a lot of negative stereotypes, cliches and tropes prevalent in trans narratives written by cis authors. I recommend reading this article, written by trans author Casey Plett, that touches on "For Today I Am A Boy," as well as several other novels about trans characters written by cis people, and the harmful tropes and stereotypes they propagate:

https://thewalrus.ca/rise-of-the-gender-novel/

I'm posting this for the sake of other prospective trans readers. While I liked the prose and the narrative around family, immigration and assimilation, I can't get over how poorly the trans narrative thread was handled.

I enjoyed this book quite a lot actually which kind of surprised me. I am not usually into realistic fiction, however this was such a unique Canadian perspective that I was quite hooked to how the story would turn out. The only thing that I wish was different was the ending, 'Peter' leaves to join his sisters and becomes 'Audrey' however nothing more about her life is discussed after this point. It would have been nice to see her full transformation and to finally be happy.

I want to say I "enjoyed" this book, but it seems like an odd response to something that was often deeply emotional and filled with loneliness. (Not that there weren't some amusing parts mixed in!) Peter, as he identifies throughout the book, feels like a woman born into a male body, but doesn't know what to do about it. I was captivated by Peter's journey and the Huang family's interactions.

A really fantastic read. It can get quite depressing and uncomfortable in some places, but if you aren't one to be bothered by books that aren't all happy all the time, this book is certainly recommended. It may also help you get a better understanding on what being transgender is.

The emotional toll of growing up transgender is just one heavy issue Fu manages to effectively explore in the scant 230 pages of this engrossing title. Self-denial and self-delusion figure prominently in the lives of both Peter and his father and the family falls apart due to the gaping chasm between parents and children, Chinese and Western culture, sex and gender. Fu doesn't sugarcoat Peter's journey; most of the book feels as bleak, jagged and raw as the frigid Canadian winters Peter endures year after year. Fu does a commendable job at creating so many fully realized characters in this book and, while Peter is certainly a character to be pitied at times, he never becomes pathetic.

I really enjoyed this book. I like how we really go to know Peter and his struggle to find the real her. It only part i could complain about was that it dragged it some spots. Also i kept getting which sister was which confused. I like how this book was different than most of the other fictional books i have read about Transgender characters. I don't think i have disliked a father character as much as i disliked the one in this book.What a jerk.

Summary

This book discusses the childhood and adult life of 'Peter' a Canadian born into a traditionalist Chinese family. The father had always wanted a traditional masculine son, however his wife was giving birth to daughters. When he finally had a son, his son's only desire was to be a woman/mother. The rest of the book details the adult life of 'Peter' which is filled with struggle to come to terms with his identity. He has a number of different sexual encounters with women, all the while wishing to be a woman and to be sexually treated as a woman as well. He finally comes to terms with his female identity after becoming friends with a Female to Male trans. He then leaves with his sisters to Europe to start a new life as Audrey. Which was inspired by spending a night dressed as Audrey Hepburn for Halloween.